December 16, 2014 It was a very long travel day. We learned to spend more money
for a taxi instead of using the local transportation for long journeys. We can go
at our own schedule saving the long airport wait made longer by a delayed flight.
Fly in the mornings if possible.

We eventually figured out the prepaid card for the light rail, bought a taxi ticket
and finally arrived at the apartment complex an hour and a half after the plane landed.
70 minutes of that time was riding the light rail and taxi so the airport isn’t that
close to the city. Whew, I was too keyed up to fall asleep right away. Thank goodness
the apartment is modern and comfortable.

December 17, 2014 Our first day was spent grocery shopping. Our Airbnb host thought
there would be a grocery store in the LowYat Mall. It turned out to be full of electronics.
The grocery store, Giant, was in the mall next door. Luckily there was a Chinese
guy who sold pork products inside the grocery store. How can you have eggs without
bacon? Well, this is a Muslim country. There were plenty of chicken feet to choose
from. Had a panic attack as we came out of the mall at a different entrance. Which
way do we walk? Took a taxi too many groceries. Problem solved.

Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant listening to Reggae and the Police from the 70’s
& 80’s. Who would have thought????

December 18, 2014 The Petronas Twin Towers, the KL Tower and the Sultan Abdul Samad
clock tower which counted down the minutes to Independence. We toured Independence
Square. We initially got turned around after exiting the light rail building. Gary
saw the KL Tower which helped me get oriented on the map. Yeah, Gary! Then off to
the 1888 Central Market built by the British. It now houses art and craft objects
for the tourists.

Gary roasted a chicken in the oven sitting on potatoes. We also had a nice big garden
salad with cucumbers, red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and green onions. I was in
heaven! I enjoy eating the local food but there is nothing like home cooking!

December 19, 2014 We walked to Times Square and behold it was another mall. This
mall had a Krispy Kreme - Yeah! We found another grocery store and picked up more
food items.

Dinner was at Bijan’s Restaurant. Recommended by Lonely Planet AND it was across
the street from the apartment. The restaurant served us tradtional Malay dishes.
Our favorite was the wild ferns with shrimp salad.

December 20, 2014 We were able to walk to the KL Tower. We paid the extra money
for the higher observation floor without windows. The weather has been overcast since
we arrived. Will we ever see blue skies in KL? I was amazed to see the mountains
and how spread out the city is.

December 21, 2014 Internet Day partly due to the rain. We do not have Internet in
the apartment. We take the elevator down to the 6th floor to the reading room. I
made a reservation to tour Malacca City. I researched places to stay on Langkawi
Island. Also trying to make dinner reservations for Christmas Eve.

We went out for dinner. Stopped at the Havana Cafe for drinks but ended up staying
for appetizers which became dinner. Met a lovely couple from Perth who are living
here for IT work.

December 22, 2014 First objective was to get to the Grand Hyatt to confirm our dinner
reservations with a passport and cc. Then on to the KLCC park for our close encounter
with the Petronas Twin Towers. OMG our fist bit of blue sky. Then we visited the
aquarium in the convention center. It was a nice aquarium. We then walked back to
the Pavilion Mall which is close to the apartment. We had a nice lunch and then to
the Mercato store to finish buying items for our Christmas Day dinner - actually
it will be appetizers. When we came out it was raining. We only had one umbrella
which I used and Gary used his hat. We didn’t melt and we certainly didn’t get cold.

December 23, 2014 It rained most of the day so again we used the Internet to book
a flight, hotels, and start preparing for Thailand. The reading room looks out on
this beautiful pool. Next week when Gary is mediating I will use the pool to exercise
- cross my heart.

Gary made a great chicken soup from the leftovers.

Christmas Eve. Gary & I each walked to a different mall: Gary to sell the big camera
and I to get a hair cut.

Our dinner at the Grand Hyatt was great fun. So many items from the buffet to choose
from and a wonderful cab from the Essen winery in California. We sat next to the
Petronas towers for a wonderful view.

December 27, 2014 We finally made it to Chinatown. This guy in the picture reminds
me of the NetFlick series Marco Polo. He is the God of War at the Guan Di Temple.
We saw many folks burning what we thought were prayers but it was a special paper
money at this and other temples. Burning money must be an offering to the Gods. For
the Chinese the number 4 is death. Our apartment is 3A instead of 4 and the 14th
floor is labeled 13A, all of Asia is very superstitious.

We had a great dinner at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant where you walk through
the kitchen to get to the sitting area. I noticed a Buddha statue in the back. That’s
why we were served beer and pork.

December 29, 2014 I purchased a tour for us to travel to Malacca. Malacca’s colonial
area is a World Heritage site. It was interesting to see the blending of European
and Asia influences in the colonial architecture. The city was important due to it’s
location as a major port in the Malacca Straits. The Malay Sultanate ruled in the
14 century along with help from the Chinese to keep Siam (Thailand) out. Then in
1511 the Portuguese ruled until 1641 when the Dutch captured the city. During the
Napoleonic wars, the city was held by the British, until the Japanese occupation
in WWII.

I was surprised to see that tourism is so pervasive. I found the history and the
architecture all very interesting so why wouldn’t other people? Hopefully the tourist
dollars will help the residents protect the treasures they have. The tile work reminded
me of Lisbon but the design is definitely Chinese.

December 31, 2014 This was our last day of touring KL. The sun was shining so a great
day for the Bird Park, the largest covered aviary in Southeast Asia.

Happy New Year’s Day KL has been a nice city to visit. If you are a shopper, this
is the city for you. The tourism offices need to place many more signed at the public
transportation areas to help the tourist get around. With the light rails and monorail,
figuring out which way to walk or which platform to take was our biggest challenge
of all the countries we have visited. It’s illegal to haggle the fare for a taxi
but none of taxi drivers use their meter. The food is good but I don’t think it’s
superior to any other country. It has been nice to see various cultures and religions
living next to each other. The one thing I am surprised with is how clean the city
is.

We are packed and ready to leave for Langkawi Island and some beach time. Gary is
ready to read, eat, drink, nap, read, eat, drink, nap, rinse then repeat.